Mcneese St. Team Notes

By now, most sports fans have heard the story of first-year Lamar head coach Pat Knight's like-father-like-son postgame rant after Lamar's Feb. 22 loss to Stephen F. Austin.

He called his senior class the worst group of seniors he's ever been associated with on a basketball team and basically called them a bunch of criminals for having stolen money from the school for years by being on scholarship and not earning it.

The Cardinals had one of two ways to go after that. They could have proven their coach right and tanked it down the stretch, or they could have done what they did: win six consecutive games that secured a Southland Conference East Division regular-season title and then a conference tournament championship win over McNeese State to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

In either scenario, Knight's approach put him in a position to look good. Either the senior class he didn't recruit would prove him right and blow a good thing in his debut season, or the team would make his rant look like a motivational masterpiece by winning out.

Fans of the team that hadn't been to an NCAA Tournament since 2000 (and hadn't even been to a Southland Conference tournament in the previous three seasons) were happy the latter scenario played out.

"I knew that we had talent on this team, and hiring Coach Knight just meshed it all together," senior guard Anthony Miles said. "After three years in a row of not making the conference tournament, I will take that if this is the result. It was a long, hard-fought season, and we just did it."

But all that momentum didn't carry over to the NCAA Tournament, however, as Lamar made a first-round exit, losing 71-59 to Vermont in a Midwest Region game on March 14.

Devon Lamb and Mike James each had 16 points to lead Lamar, but the Cardinals shot just 33.3 percent while allowing a 50-percent success rate for their opponents.

In the end, Knight was singing a much different tune in summarizing his first season as the head coach at Lamar.

"I can't wait until next year, but I'm going to miss these guys," Knight said of his seniors before choking up. "It's been a special year. To go from getting fired a year ago (at Texas Tech) and make the NCAA Tournament -- and it's nothing I did. It's the six seniors."

NOTES, QUOTES

--UT-Arlington's season-ending, 82-72 loss to Washington in the first round of the NIT was an awful lot like the team's season as a whole.

The Mavs (24-9) surprised onlookers by not only being competitive throughout the first half and well into the second half, but they were much better than anticipated. But then the team seemed to hit the wall down the stretch, falling to the Pac-12 team.

UTA was expected to be competitive in the Southland Conference this season, but nobody saw a 15-0 start in league play coming from this bunch. The Mavs rode a school-record 16-game win streak into a Feb. 18 BracketBusters loss to Weber State. The Mavs rattled off three more league wins before UT-San Antonio knocked them off in the regular-season finale, preventing coach Scott Cross' team from becoming the first ever Southland Conference team to go 16-0 in league play.

However, the Mavs simply didn't have anything left in the tank for a SLC tournament semifinal loss to McNeese State on March 8. UTA went 4-4 in its last eight games of the season, 1-3 in its last four.

Three seniors will leave the team, but none more valuable than senior swingman LaMarcus Reed, a first-team All-Southland Conference selection.

"He has been the man all season long for us, and tonight was no exception," Cross said after the season-ending loss. "I'm sorry it is over for him. He has been great for the program in so many areas."

--Back-to-back postseason tournaments (NIT in 2010-11 and CIT in 2011-12 season) show McNeese State has been pretty good as of late. But the Cowboys are in a tough spot moving forward after a 76-63 first-round loss to Toledo in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on March 13.

Southland Conference Player of the Year Patrick Richard is gone after averaging 17.8 points per game this season, and fellow seniors Rudy Turner and Daniel Richard have also exhausted their eligibility.

The Cowboys have gone a combined 21-11 in league play the last two years and lost in back-to-back conference tournament championship games. Without Patrick Richard, Daniel Richard and Turner, and it's hard to imagine they'll get over that hump in the 2012-13 season.

--Three teams -- Texas State, UT-Arlington and UT-San Antonio -- have played their final basketball games in the Southland Conference and will join the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012-13 seasons.

Two schools -- Houston Baptist and Oral Roberts -- will fill two of those spots starting next season, but the Southland will still be left as an 11-team conference for next year's hoops season.

BY THE NUMBERS: 3 -- Three teams, an extreme rarity for the Southland Conference, were invited to postseason tournaments this season. Lamar won the Southland Conference tournament and earned the coveted automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. UT-Arlington, by virtue of winning the league's regular-season title, earned an NIT automatic berth. McNeese State, which played in two consecutive league title games and was last year's regular-season champion and NIT participant, accepted an invitation to play in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament. All three, however, lost in their respective first-round games.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

AROUND THE LEAGUE

CENTRAL ARKANSAS

--Central Arkansas ended the season with an 8-21 record and was 3-13 in Southland Conference play in the second year under head coach Corliss Williamson. That is a three-game improvement overall from last year and two more wins than the 1-15 SLC mark the Bears had in 2011.

--Senior G Mark Rutledge played his final college game March 3 in a loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in the game.

"Mark played with his heart tonight," Williamson said, "and that's the way he's played throughout his career here at UCA. We're certainly going to miss him a lot. His spirit in the locker room, on the practice floor, his whole demeanor. He's certainly laid a foundation for the ones that come after him with his work ethic."

--Sophomore G LaQuentin Miles, a Southeast Missouri transfer, led the Southland Conference with 18.0 points per game in nonconference action, but his season average dipped to 14.9 overall after going through the grind of league play.

He was honored after the season as an all-conference third-team selection.

LAMAR

--Lamar ended the season 23-12 overall and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. The team hadn't even played in the Southland Conference tournament in the three season prior to Pat Knight's arrival last offseason.

The first year coach may have sparked a fire under this year's squad, and he received plenty of credit for returning the Cardinals to the Big Dance, but his challenge now will be to do it with his own players. This NCAA Tournament roster featured seniors -- Mike James, Anthony Miles, Devon Lamb, Brandon Davis and Charlie Harper -- as the top five scorers. Those five combined to average 61.6 of the team's 73.9 points per game.

--Lamar's three senior guards -- James, Miles and Lamb -- were all named to All-Southland Conference teams after the regular season.

James, whose 17.2 points per game ranked third in the SLC, was a first-team selection. Miles, who averaged 14.5 points per game, and Lamb, whose 10 double-doubles were second in the league, were each second-team selections.

--Knight is the third coach in Lamar history to take the Cardinals to the NCAA Tournament in his first season running the program. The previous two were Billy Tubbs, who took the Cardinals to the tourney in his first two seasons (1979 and 1980), and Mike Deane, who led the team to the tournament in the 1999-2000 season, the program's last appearance before this year.

MCNEESE STATE

--The Cowboys lost in the Southland Conference tournament title game for the second straight season on March 10 in Katy, Texas, and they lost three days later in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament to Toledo. The team's final record was 17-16 overall, 10-6 in SLC play.

--McNeese State senior G Patrick Richard capped one of the league's best careers with back-to-back duds -- a 4-for-20 performance (16 points) in the SLC final against Lamar and a 4-for-17 performance (10 points) in the CIT loss to Toledo.

Fortunately for the Southland Conference Player of the Year who averaged 17.9 points per game this season, Richard's career will be remembered for far more than those two games.

Richard (6-foot-4, 208-pounds) led the league in scoring this season with 17.9 points per game. He was 10th in rebounds (6.3 per game), ninth in assists (3.2 per game), seventh in free-throw percentage (76.9 percent), eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3-to-1) and first in minutes played (36.5 per game).

--Of the 21 team statistical categories the Southland Conference regularly updates on the league website, the Cowboys ranked in the top three of only one: defensive field-goal percentage (31.9 percent).

--Junior guards Dontae Cannon (11.6 points per game) and Jeremie Mitchell (10.8 points per game) will be looked to next season to fill the scoring void left by Patrick Richard.

NICHOLLS STATE

--A quote coach J.P. Piper gave the Daily Comet after his team was bounced from the first round of the Southland Conference tournament on March 7 probably tells you all you need to know about the season his program just endured.

"I think Krista Bayers, our trainer, is going to be the MVP at our athletic banquet," Piper told the Daily Comet. "I think I talked to her more than my staff."

The Colonels suffered through an injury-plagued season that left them with pretty much only freshmen and sophomores on the court most of the time down the stretch, but still the team ended the year 10-20 overall and 6-10 in conference play, good enough to sneak into the eighth and final spot in the SLC tournament.

--F Trevon Lewis was named Southland Conference Freshman of the Year. He averaged 13.1 points per game this season (tops among freshmen in the league). His 55.4 percent shooting from the floor in league games ranked No. 4 in the conference.

Lewis is the fourth Nicholls State player to earn Freshman of the Year honors, the last being Fred Hunter in 2009.

--The Colonels may actually not be losing any players this offseason. The only two seniors on the roster -- Gs Fred Hunter and Ben Martin -- may both be eligible for medical redshirts. Martin played in four games before his season was ended with a leg injury. Hunter, last year's No. 2 scorer on the team at 15.8 points per game, never played a game after a November knee injury.

NORTHWESTERN STATE

--The Demons were hot in the first half of league play, but they stumbled down the stretch and finished the season with a 16-16 overall record and an 8-8 mark in Southland Conference play.

The Demons lost 76-69 in the first round of the SLC tournament to eventual tournament champion Lamar.

Northwestern State lose just two seniors, G Louis Ellis and C William Mosley, but they were the No. 2 and 3 scorers on the team.

--Mosley ended his storied Northwestern State career with 460 blocked shots, putting him at No. 5 all-time in NCAA history. He also went out in dramatic fashion with a career-best 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots in the tournament loss, less than a week after his twin sons, not yet 1 year old, died in a Houston hospital because of medical complications they had since birth.

"He's been through a lot in five years with us, nothing that compares to the last few days," coach Mike McConathy said. "He's very genuine, very appreciative. They joke around and call him Will McConathy. He's the kind of kid I would want to be my son. I'd put him alongside Michael and Logan. He's that special."

--Junior G Shamir Davis was a third-team All-Southland Conference selection after leading the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game. He also had a team-high 100 assists.

SAM HOUSTON STATE

--The Bearkats went through the first half of the season seemingly in need of nametags. After an offseason roster overhaul, they essentially returned only two regular players from last year's team, meaning second-year coach Jason Hooten had a lot of new faces to coach up.

The team struggled through a 1-5 start to the season and a 6-10 nonconference mark but posted a respectable 7-9 mark in Southland Conference play. That was good enough to get the team into its 10th consecutive Southland Conference tournament, where the Bearkats lost 68-46 in the opening round to Stephen F. Austin.

C Antuan Bootle and F Marcus James were the only two seniors on this year's roster.

--The Bearkats were one of only two SLC teams (Southeastern Louisiana was the other) to have no player named all-conference (first team, second team, third team or honorable mention).

--Junior G Konner Tucker, a Wake Forest transfer, led the Bearkats in scoring this season with an average of 12.0 points per game.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

--Southeastern Louisiana ended the season 12-17 overall and 5-11 in Southland Conference play, missing out on the league tournament for the first time in the past eight years.

The season took a turn for the worst when leading scorer Brandon Fortenberry, a senior point guard, broke his foot and was lost for the year after just seven games. It is possible Fortenberry will be granted a medical redshirt for the season. He, along with Mississippi State transfer C Elgin Bailey (8.9 points, 6.3 rebounds per game) and G DeShawn Patterson (school-record 175 career steals) all graduate.

--The Lions were one of only two SLC teams (Sam Houston State was the other) to have no player named all-conference (first team, second team, third team or honorable mention).

--With a Feb. 29 win over McNeese State and a March 3 win at Nicholls State, the Lions ended the season on a two-game winning streak for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

--Junior F Roosevelt Johnson came on strong down the stretch for the Lions, and he enters the offseason as the team's top gun. He had his eighth double-double of the season in the March 3 season finale at Nicholls State with 14 points and 12 rebounds. On the season, he averaged 11.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN

--The Lumberjacks' March 7 win over Sam Houston State in the first round of the Southland Conference tournament gave the program its fourth 20-win season in the past five years.

However, the team lost the next game against Lamar, ending the campaign with a 20-12 overall record.

While the Lumberjacks have only one senior on the roster, he's a good one. C Jereal Scott led the team in scoring (12.4 points per game) and also averaged 5.4 rebounds per game.

The pair give coach Danny Kaspar an even 20 all-conference players in his 12-year tenure running the program.

--Once again, Stephen F. Austin easily led the Southland Conference in scoring defense, allowing teams to score just 54.4 points per game this season.

Through statistics posted on the NCAA Web site on March 8, that was the third-best mark in the nation, with both teams ranked in front of the Lumberjacks -- Wisconsin and Virginia -- and the team ranked No. 4 -- Harvard -- all heading for the NCAA Tournament.

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI

--The first season under head coach Willis Wilson was certainly not a thing of beauty, but it was one many around the program feel has left the team in good position for the future.

The Islanders, who had five freshmen on scholarship and two incoming junior-college transfers, finished the season 6-24 overall and 4-12 in Southland Conference play. The team started 1-13. After that, the Islanders were a much more respectable 5-11.

The lone departing senior is G/F Chris Hawkins-Mast, who was second on the team in scoring (12.7 points per game) and also averaged 6.1 rebounds per game.

--Junior G Terence Jones was named to the honorable mention All-Southland Conference team on March 6. The 6-foot-2 junior from Baltimore averaged 13.7 points per game, seventh best in the league.

He had a career-best 33 points in a Jan. 25 win over Texas State and had six games of 20 or more points.

His 874 career points leave him well within striking distance of becoming the program's ninth 1,000-point scorer as a senior in the 2012-13 season.

--The Islanders set program lows this year for wins (six) and fewest wins in Southland Conference play (four).

"I was disappointed with the way the season went," Wilson told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "Not so much the first part, but with conference play. I told the guys six wins can get you into the conference tournament, seven wins will get you there, eight wins will get you there. We could have been a team that could easily have gone .500 in the league."

TEXAS-ARLINGTON

--UT-Arlington had a record number of wins this season, finishing 24-9 and enjoying a school-record 16-game winning streak along the way. The magical season was almost one for the Southland Conference record books, too, as the Mavs started league play 15-0 before falling to UT-San Antonio on the final night of the regular season.

The NIT appearance, one that was automatic as the Mavs won the conference regular-season title but fell in the league tournament, was the program's third-ever postseason bid (NIT in 1981, NCAA in 2008).

--After a 16-game winning streak between Dec. 21 and Feb. 15, the Mavs went 4-4 in their last eight games and 1-3 in their last four.

--Scott Cross was selected the 2011-12 Southland Conference Coach of the Year after leading his Mavericks to a 15-1 record in the league's regular season.

It was his first coach of the year honor. The only previous UTA coach to earn the distinction was Bob LeGrand in 1981.

--Senior G LaMarcus Reed was named to the first-team All-Southland Conference squad. His average of 20.4 points per league game topped the Southland in the regular season, and his 17.8 points per game overall ranked No. 2 behind McNeese State senior G Patrick Richard (18.1).

--The Roadrunners lost their final game in the Southland Conference 78-74 in overtime to McNeese State on March 7 in the opening round of the league tournament. The Roadrunners will join the Western Athletic Conference for the 2012-13 season.

UTSA, the 2010-11 NCAA Tournament participant from the SLC, started 7-1 in conference play this season before stumbling through a 3-6 month of February. UTSA finished 18-14 overall, 10-6 in SLC play.

The Roadrunners lose four seniors from this year's team: F/C Alex Vouyoukas, F Stephen Franklin, F Larry Wilkins and G Sei Paye. None ranked in the top four in scoring for the team.

--Sophomore F Jeromie Hill, the 2010-11 SLC Freshman of the Year, had a bit of a disappointing season in terms of overall statistics, but not in the eyes of the league's coaches. Hill was selected as a second-team All-Southland Conference player.

Junior G Melvin Johnson III was placed on the third team, and leading scorer Kannon Burrage (13.5 points per game) received honorable mention.

--Texas State got hot at the end of February, winning five of six games between Feb. 8 and Feb. 25, but it wasn't enough to sneak into the No. 8 seed of the Southland Conference tournament. The Bobcats ended the season 13-17 overall and 5-11 in league play.

The team loses three seniors, G John Bowman, G Travis Jones and F Brooks Ybarra. The trio accounted for 26.0 points per game this season.

--C Matt Staff's 17 points and 11 rebounds in a Feb. 29 loss to Lamar represented the fourth double-double for the junior in the month of February. Texas State didn't make the postseason, and Staff ended the year averaging team highs in points (13.3 per game), rebounds (7.9) and blocked shots (1.4).

Staff was named third-team all-conference.

--Ybarra was an All-Southland Conference honorable mention player. He averaged 12.5 points during his senior season.

--The Bobcats will play the 2012-13 season in the Western Athletic Conference.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.